Setting Yourself Up for Side Hustle Success
No matter what side hustle you are trying, you need to go into it with the proper mindset and tools to be successful. I have been side hustling for about ten years and have compiled some of my best tips and tools into this article for you! First we'll talk tools, then we'll go over some mindset tips that will help to keep you going.
Tools for success:
Space and storage
What are you working with inventory-wise? If you're selling physical inventory, stay here. If you're digital only, you won't really need this part. For me, I'm primarily working with physical inventory, mostly clothes and some household type items. My favorite method is just a whole closet dedicated to items I am selling. This allows for clothes to actually get hung up or folded, which in the long run helps you out so much with presentation. By presentation, I mean taking photos of your items, packing them, and shipping them. If they are nice and neat, kept away from pets, children, cooking smells, etc, you have a lot less work to do when the time comes to ship your items or take new photos of them.
But I digress. You can do this without a whole closet dedicated to your inventory, it's just my preference. Over the years I have used space in my own closet, big plastic storage bins with lids, moving boxes (not my fave, but it works), and even those space saver vacuum bags! So, the point is, you must consider what you are working with space-wise and inventory-wise. If you're about to buy a pallet to resell, you better have space for it, because not all items are going to just fly off your shelves, so to speak. You are going to have to store the majority of what you are selling and you need to do so in a way that is organized.
Speaking of organized.
You need to be able to keep track of your spending and earnings. This is paramount if you want to actually make money. And that brings us to our next tool.
This one is a life saver. You need to know what's going out to have a grasp on what's coming in. You also need to be mindful of the amount of time you spend towards your business because your time is a truly invaluable currency. Whether you are hand making items for sale on Etsy or a similar platform or you have clothes listed all over Poshmark, Depop, and Ebay, like me, you have to know what you spent and what your profit margin looks like. Collecting and recording this data faithfully will allow you to make data-driven decisions moving forward, and that means business growth. The best way you can do this is with the Expense & Earnings Tracker digital download. It's been designed with your success in mind to simplify and streamline your sales data. All you need to do once it's downloaded is either print it, or use it digitally with a PDF editing app/software. Record all the information you have that the spreadsheets call for and then make informed decisions as you grow your business. You will be so happy you kept yourself organized.
Next, you need to keep the organized aesthetic in your back pocket, because we're moving onto item presentation in your shop.
Camera & Photography Space
Camera is obvious. I have never used a professional camera, only the camera on my phone, and it has never failed me. So we don't need to deep dive that part. The other part however, requires some unpacking. So, photography space. You would never know that I take photos of my items in an unfinished basement on a piece of 5'x5' sheetrock tastefully covered in peel and stick wallpaper. But alas, I do. Every single photo. My point in outing myself with this, is to tell you that you can 100% be sneaky with where you are taking your photos as long as they are well lit, aesthetically pleasing, and uniform. Cannot stress the uniform part enough. Make all your photos look the same. You do not walk into a brick and mortar store and buy things among chaos. There is an aesthetic, there is organization, there is branding. You don't have to start your shop with specific branding by any means, but keep the principle in mind when you are deciding how you will present your items.
If you do stylized photography, make sure you are using a similar background space for every item. It really helps to have some sort of space dedicated to any style of photography because if you have to set things up and move stuff from all over your home to get these pictures done, odds are, this is going to get put off until its convenient for you. So make it convenient in the first place.
Now lets talk less physical tools, more mental tools.
You already know I'm gonna say it...
Organization
If you haven't noticed, it's a really big part of being successful in this type of industry. You are the only one that is going to hold you accountable. There is no boss, coworker, or assistant to keep you organized. It's all you, babe. Don't set yourself up for failure. Consider with me, for a moment, what can happen if you are not organized. You lose an item that someone has bought and is expecting to receive in the mail within the next few days. You spill coffee on an item you had sitting out that should have been safely stored away. Someone in your home uses your item that was new with tags (which makes it more valuable) and removes those tags. Don't let this silly stuff happen. Just get yourself organized.
My favorite organization tool is my Planner. If my planner is sorted out, my life is sorted out. And starting each day with my planner actually sets the tone for the rest of my day to stick to what I've planned for myself and to maintain that same level of organization. This is another digital download that you can also print, if you prefer to write on physical pages. But either way, it's so useful and makes life so much easier if you're consistent with it.
And speaking of consistency...
Consistency
I'm going to also lump this in with persistence. Not because persistence is not important enough to have its own section, but because they kind of go together. If you want to make money consistently, then you must have a consistent routine dedicated to making time for your business. This does not have to be every day! Don't think that your side hustle has to take as much time as your full time job- it does not. But you do need to show up for it on some sort of regular basis, and you need to continue to do that even when things are slow, which is where persistence comes in. It's not always going to be poppin in your shop and items are selling like free candy. That's not real life with this kind of thing. The thing that keeps me going is finding new inventory and listing it regularly. Like daily to weekly, for my particular life and schedule. So consider how much time you are willing and able to commit to your side hustle and stick to it. Make a commitment in your planner at the beginning of each month (there's space specifically for that in there!) and stick to it.
Lastly, let's touch on a mental tool to keep your sanity when things don't go the way you though they would.
Flexibility
There are times you are going to have to roll with the punches. No sales at all for two weeks? Roll with it. You cannot force people to buy things. But you sure can analyze and try to pivot! Part of rolling with the punches is being able to adapt to things you may not have seen coming. Don't freak out over a lack of sales, learn from the lull and maybe you'll develop a valuable new skill, like marketing or SEO.
Things are not going to go perfectly all the time. They probably don't at your regular corporate job either and many businesses have hundreds or thousands of people working to keep things going smoothly. It's just you with your side hustle and while that can seem daunting, it also can remove a lot of room for error if you utilize these tools.
So remember to consider your space for storage and photography, your organizational tools like your Planner and your Expense & Earnings Tracker, and remember your attitude- consistent, persistent, and flexible.
You are going to be successful.
You are going to reach your goals.
You've got this.
You can find the Official Side Hustle & Self Care Planner and the Expense and Earnings Tracker here in the shop!